Two Awards!

Two very lovely people over the past couple of weeks have nominated me for two different awards and I feel very honoured indeed. Thanks so much Cathy and Jeanette for the very kind compliments you have given me. I'd like to say,"right back at you". I love to read both of your blogs.
I thought I would give you a bunch of flowers for your kindness- sorry they're not the real thing!
 I would like to nominate Jeanette for the NICE MATTERS AWARD. Jeanette is my new friend from Sweden. She also is a very creative person and makes the most wonderful things using a combination of felting and quilting. You can just imagine how delighted I was when Jeanette recently told me she had made me this beautiful little quilt. I was so excited, I couldn't stop smiling. To think somebody that I had never met in person would do something so nice for me! Such a thoughtful friend, thank you. Jeanette is in the process of doing up an old farmhouse and is doing the best job of it. It is a pleasure to be sharing in her journey. Now I must nominate some other blogging friends for the NICE MATTERS AWARD, so here goes...
Eleanor and Ruby- Leisa is a wonderful mother and homemaker. Her blog has beautiful photos of her new garden and thrift shop finds and is always a pleasure to read.

Rosy Inspiration is full of roses, pretty things and delicious cooking. A girl after my own heart.

It's nice to see how life is going on the "other" side of Australia.

and last but not least,

Nature, Art and Home- Andrea is a very special person who loves nature and shows great concern for the world in which we live. She is a wonderful artist who not only draws the most amazing caricatures but can draw life-like drawings of natures bounty. Real talent.

Spring is in the Air

There is the enticing feel of spring in the air. You know the feeling...you can't get enough of it. The irresistible urge to garden and clean. There are flowers appearing, complete with their wonderful smells. Life feels a pleasure to be part of. Well, it has started at my place. For me it always starts with cleaning and rearranging. My hutch was the first victim...a little change in the arrangement and lots of dusting.

Fresh "start of spring" flowers in my new enamel jug

and in an old wall vase I bought at the swap meet.

I couldn't resist these cushions on a recent shopping trip as they matched my lounge room perfectly. Something fresh and new. I was planning on making some but I can still do that as you can never have enough of them.
Spring is such a rewarding time to potter in the garden doing some planting. With the warmer weather, everything just wants to grow. I have been madly planting up new containers to place on outside tables. This table is one of the projects I have been doing. We bought it at a very reasonable price years ago but it was green and I never really did like it. So now in my mad white phase it too has had a lick of white paint. I am still in the process of painting the chairs. It is very hard to settle down to one task at the moment as the garden is always beckoning me.

Speaking of which...I must dash, the garden is calling. Happiness to all my blogging friends till next time.

Forgotten Art...

Isn't it funny how when you are working on a piece of artwork that is all you can think about and then once it's done and hung you start to forget that you made it? I tend to do that all the time so I thought I would show everyone a few pieces I made last year...sort of a "I remember you're there" and "you're still making my home a prettier place to live".I can't resist going through the old postcards whenever I am in antique shops...it's kind of like finding hidden treasure. Sometimes they are just ghastly but sometimes one just hits the spot. I find the ones that I'm most attracted to tend to have beautiful verses and pretty pictures. The backs are important also. Although I still feel a bit naughty reading someone else's letter, it does give you a glimpse into a bygone era.I'm never quite sure what to do with them. I thought these two were too pretty not to put them on the wall so I mounted them on some lovely paper to match my lounge room and added a little touch of fabric to soften them.
I wanted to give this one a feeling of being on stage as the couple look so dramatic.
This is a little canvas that I painted and collaged then bees waxed. I love to use old music as the words are often a good starting point for the imagination to create. This piece tends to be a travelling one and turns up all over my home. The colours lend it a peaceful quality. Just as my plants are "the sisterhood of the travelling plants" so too are my paintings!